Gonzalez hopes blister will heal before next start

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- The Orioles will continue to monitor the blister on Miguel Gonzalez's right thumb, with his next start potentially in jeopardy.

Gonzalez -- who had the blister first creep up in his previous start in Oakland -- exited after ripping it open on a sixth-inning curveball in Friday's loss to the Angels. He left after 80 pitches, two of which left the ballpark and resulted in all three runs.

"It can turn good or bad now in the next day or two," manager Buck Showalter said. "Because taking the top of it off is not good initially for pitching, but to heal now it is good. So the next couple days ... we got an extra day to play with [in Monday's off-day] if we do push him back."

Gonzalez, who had the area bandaged on Saturday afternoon, could have his bullpen session pushed back as well, although that wouldn't be as big of an issue given that the team could cover it up for the shorter side. Gonzalez said Friday night that the blister, which is pretty deep, particularly bothered him while throwing his curveball.

"It all started in the fourth inning, and it just got worse and worse," Gonzalez said of the blister hampering his grip. "It was a little tougher at the end, but the good thing was my command was there. I was happy with that."

Davis not likely to land on disabled list

ANAHEIM -- Chris Davis was diagnosed with right knee tendinosis, and the Orioles remain optimistic that the first baseman will avoid the disabled list given the encouraging results from Saturday morning's MRI.

"I thought if it was really serious, obviously I wouldn't have come out of that game and walked around here and talk to you guys [in the media] in a good mood," said Davis, who left Friday night's game in the fifth inning after sustaining the injury running out a ground ball.

"It's one of those things, going to the bag hard; [I] felt some discomfort today still a little bit. Got the MRI back, everything's intact. Nothing is wrong with the knee structurally, which is really good. My patellar tendon felt a lot better today, going up and down the stairs."

Davis is considered day-to-day, and it's unknown if the first baseman -- who wasn't in Saturday's lineup -- will play before the team returns to the East Coast on Sunday night. He will try to run on Sunday morning, and given that the team's has an off-day Monday, Davis said his target right now is probably "a soft Tuesday."

"We haven't gotten anything negative to make us think that [the DL is a possibility], but he hasn't done anything on the field yet," manager Buck Showalter said. "We're letting it quiet down. We'll see if he can play there tomorrow or not. There's some temptation given the off-day sitting there, a very rare off-day in our case. We'll see.

So, Davis could potentially play Sunday if he comes in and says everything is good?

"He said he was doing some things in the [training] room he probably shouldn't have been doing, and said he felt good last night," Showalter said. "We can't hit outside tomorrow. There's a fine line between pushing it to see how it is and having a setback."

Davis, an integral part of the team who is coming off an April in which he was named the American League Player of the Month, hasn't had any prior injuries to his right knee and has been able to walk around the clubhouse without any issue. He has been getting regular treatment on the area and, according to executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette, the team's doctors will look over Saturday's MRI back in Baltimore on Monday.

"In all honesty, I would have loved to play today," Davis said. "I don't like missing games, obviously."

Still, the 27-year-old had a pretty good seat in watching Steve Pearce -- filling in for Davis at first base -- collect the game-winning hit in the Orioles' 5-4, 10-inning win.

"That spot right there. Put somebody at first, it's looking good right now," Davis said. "I'm happy for Pearce. It's kind of the same thing we ran into last year. Guys got injured, other guys filled in and stepped up. I keep saying that's the great thing about this team; nobody cares who gets the credit at the end of the day as long as we get the 'W.' And we got the 'W.' And I ate a lot of seeds."

Clark designated to make room for Garcia

"It's about right for my path," said Clark, 29, who made his Major League debut Wednesday at Seattle. "I'm not really surprised. They needed the spot and I was the guy they could take off, I guess. I'm a little disappointed, but it doesn't change that I need to pitch well to be where I want to be."

Clark is now on waivers, meaning he can be claimed by another team -- which goes in the inverse order of the current standings -- and be added to that organization's 40-man roster. The Orioles expect to know by Monday afternoon if Clark has cleared, in which case he would go back to Triple-A Norfolk.

Clark, a UMBC product, is a great underdog story, with several Orioles Minor Leaguers taking to Twitter to show their support during his debut. Clark allowed three earned runs on three hits and two walks, striking out one over 1 2/3 innings.

"I don't understand how it would change the way I pitch -- maybe give me a little bit more fire to get back, but I think that would be the same situation if I was just sent down," Clark said.

"If I thought it was going to be easy once I got here, I'd be naïve."

Worth noting

• Catcher Luis Exposito, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week, has cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A Norfolk.

• Left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada (Tommy John surgery) threw six innings in extended spring training, going an extra frame to drive up his pitch count. Wada allowed one earned run on three hits and struck out four.